A Stupid Bet
by JMProfio
Summary: Set a little bit after the book 10 reset, with some slight mentioning of my other Pendragon story, "Changes". Whole mess of Andy/Bobby shipping.
1. Chapter 1

**[Author's Note: I was looking through one of my old jump drives and I found a little snippet of a story idea I thought of a while back, and I was halfway through writing this before I realized I'd written a story that sounded more like a cheesy yaoi manga setup than a** ** _Pendragon_** **story. I've managed to rewrite some bits to fit it in with the established stuff from my other** ** _Pendragon_** **story, "Changes", and I dunno if that made it any less cheesy, but here it is. For anyone that** ** _hasn't_** **read my other story, suffice it to say this is set after the reset at the end of book 10, and no one remembers the war or anything. I just don't like the idea of Dane dying, I guess. It was just way too easy to avoid. For anyone that hasn't picked up on it yet, this story has a lot of Bobby/Dane shipping, or more accurately, Bobby/** ** _Andy_** **shipping. I tried to avoid anything** ** _too_** **OOC, but no promises. Also there's some characters from** ** _Morpheus Road_** **in here too, because DJ MacHale likes setting all of his books in the same town, at the same time.** ]

The cafeteria at Davis High was buzzing with students, full of activity after what everyone agreed had felt like the longest summer break in history. Despite the fresh entry of the new school year, the groups had already diverged into their own circles, leaving the freshman students to group together or find a quiet place to sit alone. At every turn, teenagers chatted as though these years would stay with them forever.

Andy tapped his food absentmindedly, searching for the right word to describe the scene before him. For some reason, it all seemed so… _pointless_. People talking with people whose faces would be unrecognizable in a few years' time, couples that would split before the year was over. There really wasn't any point to any of it, was there?

 _I sure am cheerful today_ , he thought bitterly. He had never enjoyed school, and spent more time skipping class than attending, but he couldn't seem to place the reason for his disdain, and the thought irritated him. He still disliked the building, the students, the staff… but it seemed the reason was gone. Why did he hate this building so much? It seemed like a waste of time, sure, but something in his subconscious seemed more actively venomous than seemed appropriate.

And Pendragon. There was something weird going on with Bobby Pendragon.

He had always despised his classmate—though again, for some reason, he couldn't exactly place why—and likewise Pendragon had never been overly fond of him. But it was almost like something had happened between them, something neither of them could quite place, and it had… changed something. Something was definitely different. And he didn't like it one bit.

That morning outside of school, he had spotted his nemesis and intended to start off the day as usual, by tormenting him and his sickeningly loyal friends. But when Bobby had looked over… he had felt a pang, as if there was something important, the most important thing he'd ever done, and he'd simply forgotten it. His chest had hurt, and he'd felt himself wanting to say… what? The words fell short, and the reason for them seemed trapped in a deep void.

And Bobby had been smiling at him. A confused smile, more muscle memory than anything substantial, but a smile nonetheless.

Andy had simply left, muttering something akin to "forget it" as he resisted the urge to return the smile back. Why did he want to smile? Why did he want to do anything remotely _nice_ towards the smaller teen? Why did he want to… What _did_ he want to do? The feeling had lingered, along with the pain in his chest, and more perplexing than anything, he found himself thinking: _he doesn't remember_.

Remember what? Whatever it was, it seemed _neither_ of them could recall. Was that good? Was it bad? He couldn't tell, and he couldn't shake the feeling that something was… _off_. In the back of his mind, like an age-old dream, he tried to pull back the memories; Bobby, the sun reflecting gently off his hair, staring across the sea at some ancient ruined city—

"Andy? Hey, Earth to Andy?"

He was brought back to the present by Cooper Foley slumping down into a seat next to him, waving a hand in front of his face as if to summon him out of his thoughts. Andy repressed a dark scowl, the memory or whatever it had been drifting back into void. He had been so close to remembering something, but not close enough. And like waking from a dream, the more he tried to recall the scene the more it drifted away.

Coop shot him a curious look. "Dude, are you alright? You keep spacing out today."

"I'm fine," the gruff teen responded with a shrug. "Just thinking."

"That's dangerous."

The two were silent for a moment, and Andy resumed aimlessly prodding at his food. The younger teen observed his pensive companion for a moment, then broke into a grin. "I know what'll cheer you up." Coop reached into his pocket, still grinning mischievously, and produced his wallet. "Wanna make a bet?"

This was a common occurrence. The two teens would go back and forth, daring each other to do increasingly ridiculous things until the stakes proved too high or one of them backed down. Andy had never found the activity particularly fun, but Coop seemed to enjoy it, and it was an easy enough way to make a bit of money off of the easily swayed boy. There was another reason, too, floating in the abyss of his inexplicably cloudy memory; the bets were… a _test_ , was that it? A way to assert power, much like animals displaying strength and dominance in the wild. He had accepted the dares in the past in order to convince his peers that he was _tough_ , was that it? A shred of doubt passed through his thoughts. That was a weird way of putting it. Why was he thinking about regular teenage behavior as if he were observing it from a distance? It was like he was playing a part, going through the movements to blend in with his surroundings.

The question of the day floated through his mind for the hundredth time: _Why?_

Coop was still awaiting an answer. Andy sighed, forcing a friendly smile; if it _were_ a façade, no sense in breaking character now. "Sure. What's it gonna be?"

"Let's see…" His companion tapped his wallet lightly on the table as he thought, eyes scanning the cafeteria for the perfect inspiration for a fitting challenge. After a moment, his grin widened and he exclaimed, "Got it! No way you'll go through with this one."

"Well?" Andy prompted.

The younger teen reached into his wallet and produced a handful of ten dollar bills. "Fifty bucks says you won't kiss a guy. _Any_ guy."

The delinquent raised an eyebrow skeptically. "Really? _That's_ your bet?"

"What, you don't think it's tough enough?" Coop snapped his fingers, as if realizing the perfect twist, and added enthusiastically, "A hundred bucks if it's Pendragon."

"I _hate_ Pendragon."

"That's why it's more. Added challenge."

"You're kidding, right?"

"What, you're backing out?"

"I didn't say that."

He couldn't back down from the challenge, Andy was certain of that. Backing down would appear as an admission of weakness, lowering his reputation in the eyes of his peers. The bet, however, considering the mentality _of_ his peers towards certain behaviors, may have the same effect. And _Pendragon_. It was the greater challenge, to be sure, but it was also… well, it was also _Pendragon._ They were enemies, rivals, plain and simple. The effect that _that_ would have on his reputation could be disastrous. More worrying than that, though, was that the pang was back, that sharp stab he had felt when he'd seen Pendragon that morning. And accompanying it, a sort of bittersweet… was it sadness? Why?

His eyes scanned over the crowd in the cafeteria, eventually alighting on Bobby and his friends on the other side of the room. The concept of following through with the bet and actually _kissing_ his nemesis… a wave of confusion and worry passed over him as he realized the thought didn't deter him as much as it should. His nemesis, the last person in the world he could consider in this manner—and more importantly, a _guy_. He didn't _want_ to do it. The concept, as much as it kept gnawing at his mind, was too ridiculous.

Wasn't it?

Andy dismissed the thought, ignoring the puzzling emotions whirling through his addled brain. He sighed exasperatedly, directing his attention back to his companion and muttering, "Fine. But not here—I don't want everyone in school thinking I've got a thing for him or something."


	2. Chapter 2

The school day seemed to drag on forever, and more than once Andy found himself wishing he could just skip out on the rest of his classes. But he had a plan, and that plan involved staying here until the end of the day, like it or not. He stared out the windows, focusing on what he intended to do and blotting out just about anything else, only shaking himself from his reverie when he heard the bells ring.

As the final bell rang, he made his way quickly to the front entrance, losing confidence with every step he took. Could he really do this? No, he felt confident he _could_ do it, that was certain. The better question was, _should_ he do this? Maybe it was worth looking a little meeker in the eyes of his peers to just quit while he was ahead. He could come out of the situation with his pride intact, and avoid the uncomfortable confrontation with Pendragon. But something told him to press forward, to go ahead with the ridiculous bet. It wasn't for the money, he realized. It wasn't even really for the sake of his reputation.

 _I don't want to do this_ , he repeated to himself, as if convincing his own mind of the thought. _I hate Pendragon. I always have. I_ don't _want to do this. Right?_

He scanned the throng of students exiting the building, forcing himself to appear more relaxed and confident than he was feeling. Almost immediately, he spotted Bobby and his friends walking together across the grass; Andy began to walk towards them, and hesitated.

 _I don't want to do this,_ he thought again. _Right? It's just a dumb bet, that's all._

It took a considerable amount of will-power for him to propel himself forward, and by the time he reached the group his calm façade was starting to crack ever so slightly. His hands were shaking lightly, his brow furrowing despite his attempts to appear calm and confident. Bobby noticed the approach, and their eyes locked; the ache in his chest returned, and every fiber of his being wanted to turn and leave while he still could.

Bobby spoke first, a light, confused smile on his face. "Andy."

Andy clenched his teeth, wishing that at the very least the smaller teen would stop _smiling_ at him. It put him on edge, somehow, and made him think of strange places where he'd never been, things he'd never done. "Pendragon." He took a deep breath, repeating once again that _it's just a bet_ as if thinking it enough would make it true. Then he plunged on, well aware of the suspicious glares being shot at him from Mark and Courtney. "I need to talk to you. Alone."

There was no going back now. The bullet was out of the chamber, and there was no putting it back. Bobby raised an eyebrow curiously. "About what?"

"That's… private."


	3. Chapter 3

Bobby Pendragon had no idea what was going on. He couldn't stop smiling to himself, ever since school had started, and more confusing than that, he couldn't stop smiling at _Andy_ , of all people. The whole situation already felt _off_ —like he had been displaced from somewhere else entirely—and in between his bouts of unexplained happiness he found himself looking over his shoulder, as if he'd spent the last year under constant fear of attack. But then, every time he'd seen Andy, he'd just start _smiling_ again. By the end of the day, he was just ready to go home and forget about the whole thing. Then, walking out of school with Mark and Courtney, he'd run into Andy again. And the smile had drifted back. Again.

 _Why_ was he smiling? Why did seeing Andy lately make him so… _happy_? Why had he been so convinced that something terrible had happened to the gruff delinquent?

Why did he feel responsible for it?

He tried not to let his confusion show on his face, but he could tell that something was bothering Andy as well; the teen was gritting his teeth, nervous despite his usual cocky demeanor. And he had wanted to… talk. Since when had _Andy_ wanted to talk? He'd said it was private, and even though Mark and Courtney had tried to convince him not to, he found himself walking down the sidewalk on a street he barely recognized, side by side with Andy Mitchell.

Andy hadn't said anything when they started walking, and began maneuvering through the neighborhood as if he barely cared if Bobby was following, only glancing over when he thought the other teen wasn't looking, then quickly looking away. Bobby couldn't tell what the delinquent was thinking, and a flit of worry passed over him as he considered that maybe this might not have been such a great idea.

"So…" he hazarded. "What did you want to talk to me about?"

"Not now," Andy replied. "I want to make sure we're alone first."

Another wave of worry. "Okay…" They walked on, the conversation quickly drifting back into silence. Bobby hazarded another question. "So… Where are we going?"

"My house." The gruff teen hesitated, then added, "I think."

"You _think_?"

Andy shrugged. "Pretty sure. This year's been… weird."

They fell into silence again, and a few minutes later Andy stopped in front of a house and quickly opened the door and went inside, beckoning for Bobby to follow. As soon as both teens were inside, he immediately shut the door and turned to face his rival, still attempting to appear calm. Bobby glanced momentarily at the door, debating whether or not he could get past the other teen and back out onto the street. But Andy seemed determined to speak to him, and it was obvious to him that if he'd wanted to escape, he should have done it before he was inside the house.

Andy took a deep breath, then spoke rapidly. "Look, there's something I need to do, and before I do I wanted to make it perfectly clear that it's not what it looks like. I don't like you, and you don't like me, and I don't want you getting the wrong idea about any of this."

"What—" Bobby began, but his question was abruptly cut off as the gruff teen dragged him forward by the shoulders and pulled him into a rough kiss.

 **[Author's Note: Okay, I was going to upload this entire story at once, but I was having a little bit of writer's block and decided to just upload what I have for now. I'm probably going to put up more chapters in the next week or so.]**


	4. Chapter 4

**[Author's Note: Finally updating a bit! Sorry, I've been kind of busy with stuff lately and also I had writer's block. I knew what I wanted to happen, but lost all ability to form a coherent sentence. So apologies about that.]**

The short kiss was followed by silence as Andy pulled away slightly, lingering closer than he had originally intended. His face was burning, and the heat spread quickly throughout his entire body like a rush of adrenaline. Bobby hadn't moved, too stunned by the turn of events to even formulate a response.

He had just kissed Bobby Pendragon.

And, even though he _really_ did not want to admit it, he was pretty sure he had _enjoyed_ it.

The two stood there for a moment, both simply processing what had just happened in their own way, both blushing from ear to ear. Vaguely, Andy realized he was still holding onto Bobby's shirt, holding him close. His breathing was heavy, his heart beating. The response was sudden, and extreme, and still he tried repeating in his head, _It's just for the bet. Just a dumb, stupid bet._ He didn't have feelings for Bobby Pendragon. The only feeling he'd _ever_ had for Bobby Pendragon was loathing. He hadn't wanted to do this. He…

Who the _hell_ was he kidding?

He sighed, pulling the smaller teen to his chest and holding him there, ignoring Bobby's evident confusion at his actions. Struggling to find the right words to accompany the thoughts roiling through his head, he eventually settled for muttering, "This has been a weird fucking year."

Bobby nodded slightly in response, patting lightly on Andy's back, unsure of what to do with his hands. "Tell me about it." They lapsed into an awkward silence, broken only by the sound of uneven breathing, until Bobby eventually mumbled, "Hey, um, Andy?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you maybe explain to me what the hell's going on?"

"…Right." Andy released his classmate from the awkward embrace, avoiding making eye contact and attempting unsuccessfully to appear calmer than he felt.

Bobby glanced briefly at the door, entertaining the idea of leaving quickly and pretending like the events of the past few minutes had never happened, but quickly dismissed the possibility. There was no way he could just pretend this hadn't happened, no matter how hard he tried. He glanced back at Andy, feeling the blush spreading across his cheeks and trying to will it away, to no avail. What on _earth_ was happening to him? Every logic center in his brain was screaming that he should be freaking out right now, but instead he was just standing there, feeling confused and warm and shaky and wondering why his heart was pounding in his throat. And what exactly was up with Andy? He had begun by insisting that Bobby shouldn't get the wrong idea about his actions, but what was the teen _supposed_ to assume from what had taken place? Why had his arch-enemy _kissed_ him? And more importantly… why hadn't Bobby pushed him away?

The final question lingered in Bobby's mind, along with a worrying sensation that he had forgotten something. Something important, that sat on his shoulders like a heavy weight and refused to be dismissed.

They lapsed once again into silence, and eventually Andy forced himself to look the smaller teen in the eye as he began, hesitantly, _nervously_ , to explain. "I… Coop dared me to kiss you. I thought about saying no, but… well, I…" He took a deep breath, compelling himself to just push forward and say what he was thinking. "I think I… wanted to. A bit." Looking away, he tried to ignore the fact that he was blushing again. Since when had he _blushed_? "Not that I like you or anything like that, I just… thought maybe it could be… worth a shot. I guess. To try it."

Bobby didn't say anything. He looked like maybe he was thinking, his brow furrowed slightly.

The gruff delinquent moved to open the front door. "Look, you can go if you want. I won't tell anyone about this so—"

"Andy."

Before he could open the door, he was stopped by Bobby's hand pressed lightly on his arm. The smaller teen's hand was shaking slightly, and his face was extremely red as he struggled to find the words for the thoughts cascading through his head. At some point they had moved closer together, and Andy could hear Bobby's breathing, nervous and heavy. He was very, incredibly close, and the house seemed suddenly smaller, more claustrophobic.

"I don't—" Bobby began, immediately stopping and restarting. "I can't just act like this didn't happen. I… well, I guess…" He stopped, looked Andy directly in the eye, and spoke so quickly that the words seemed to blur together. "I think I kind of wanted you to. Just a bit. More than a bit."

Then suddenly they were kissing again, Andy tangling his fingers in Bobby's hair almost reflexively, all nervousness thrown away in a single instant as their lips pressed together, first light and exploratory, then quickly intensifying into something much deeper, much more intimate. Their already heavy breathing became ragged, their tongues entwining in an intricate dance. When they pulled apart, it was only for a moment before kissing again, as if buried somewhere in the kiss was an explanation to the sudden surge of emotion, both of them striving to retrieve some inkling of an idea as to why this felt so... _familiar_.


	5. Chapter 5

**[Author's Note: Hey, finishing this story for real this time! I had a lot of trouble thinking of how to work these last few chapters, plus I'm shipping out to navy training literally tomorrow, so things have been a bit hectic. But it's up! And I made a point of writing all of the final chapters so I could upload them at once! Progress! But yeah, sorry it took so long. And super special thanks to my awesome friends, pitchpearlgirl and alphaonefourzero-you guys are a good chunk of the reason I get anything done on these stories, and you are the best friends I could hope to have!]**

 **[Also, sorry if this seems a bit rushed, I wanted to get it done before I ship out. There were some ideas I had that got kind of lost. I should start making outlines for these things.]**

At some point night had fallen, but the two boys barely noticed. They were more focused on the moment at hand, and the strange familiarity of the encounter. They had settled together onto Andy's couch, watching some random show on television; Bobby was leaning his head on his companion's shoulder, and Andy's arm was wrapped gently around Bobby's shoulders. The day had been confusing, that much was definite, and a lot of things had happened that neither teen could have predicted happening in a thousand years. And lingering over everything was still the uncomfortable thought that there was _something_ they were forgetting, hovering just out of reach.

The two had settled into a slightly awkward silence, every thought punctuated by questions. Paramount was the issue of what exactly had happened the year before; it seemed to be a strange blur, and whereas Bobby could recall vague details which may or may not have been correct, Andy's memory was showing more gaps by the second. He could remember where he lived, but couldn't seem to remember if anyone else had ever lived there; as far as he could remember, he had lived in the house alone, which seemed incredibly strange for an eighteen-year-old. No one had ever _seen_ his family, and for some reason a child living completely alone hadn't raised any questions with the school or the police. He couldn't remember where he was from, or for that matter where he had been for the past several months.

Bobby had expressed genuine concern regarding Andy's amnesia, but Andy had simply shrugged it off as if it weren't a big deal, only expressing his worry by asking Bobby if he wanted to stay over for a while. They had been watching television for a few hours, and just as Andy had begun to relax slightly they heard the front door open and close in the front hall.

They both cast an inquisitive look toward the hall. "You sure no one else lives here?" Bobby asked.

"I think so," Andy replied nervously.

The two teens slowly stood up, peering cautiously into the hall from the relative safety of the couch. The front hall was coated in shadow, and it was impossible to see if anyone was standing there, mere feet away from them. Apprehensive, Bobby grasped Andy's hand as the two began to move cautiously toward the hall.

"Why in _Halla_ are you two holding hands?"

The voice rang out not from the shadows in front of them, but from immediately behind the two surprised teens. They spun around quickly, and came face to face with a girl around their own age with brown hair and eyes, who was observing them with some level of confusion.

She smiled slightly at their evident surprise. "I have to say, Dane, _this_ is certainly an interesting strategy."

They both regarded her with confusion. "Who are you?" Andy demanded. "And who the hell is Dane?"

The girl frowned, obviously expecting a different response. Facing Andy, she raised an eyebrow quizzically. "If this is a joke, I don't get it. Do you really not remember anything?"

"Remember _what_?" he asked. "The _last_ time you broke into my house?"

Bobby hadn't said anything, instead staring at the girl with his brow furrowed. "Do I... know you?"

She looked at both of them, taking in the blank looks on their faces. "You're kidding, right? It's _me_. It's Nevva."

"Nevva?" Andy repeated the name, trying to recall the confused girl in front of him. He _had_ seen her before, but somehow he couldn't quite reclaim the memory. There was something about traveling, maybe? No, that wasn't right. Travel _ers_. She was supposed to be a Traveler; but she wasn't. What the hell was a Traveler? Memories were returning in chunks, indecipherable and incoherent. "Nevva... Winter?"

Nevva smiled. "That's it! Dane, what's been going on?"

"Why do you keep calling him that?" Bobby asked. A creeping worry was drifting into place in his mind, the memories looming but not quite returning. He _knew_ these names, but the answers lingered just out of reach. Nevva Winter. Dane... there was more to that. Some sort of title? Like "lord" or "sir" or... _"saint"_. That was it—Saint Dane. But that wasn't _Andy_ , was it? His brain associated the name with someone tall and pale, with long hair—was it silver or black?—or maybe he was bald? But more than any of that he could remember a pair of eyes: bright lightning blue, the same as Andy's. Had Andy's eyes always been that blue? A memory popped into his head, a moment of clarity in his haze of confusion, and a phrase:

 _"Geez, you really_ are _an idiot."_

The memories came rushing back, and Bobby realized that his hands were shaking. He let go of Andy's hand, seeing the remembrance dawning on the other teen's face as well. Andy—no, it was Saint Dane, wasn't it—was staring from Bobby to Nevva and back again, visibly distressed. The Lead Traveler had never seen his nemesis look this distressed, with the exception of his defeat on Third Earth. The bright blue eyes were wide and panicked, and the distraught look on his face brought back a strange sense of deja vu.

Nevva looked curiously between the two. Then, quietly, she asked, "You two _really_ didn't know, did you?"

Bobby was backing away, heading toward the door and stuttering nervously under his breath. "I... I need to go. I have to go."

He retreated quickly from the room, leaving the others standing in a stunned silence. Dane regarded Nevva for a moment, as if debating what to say, then walked back over to the couch with a sigh, slumping down and burying his face in his hands. Quietly, more to himself than his former disciple, he muttered, "Why did you have to do that?"

She sat down next to him, and after a moment put a comforting arm on his shoulder. After a few minutes, she mumbled, "I'm sorry. I didn't realize that you couldn't remember. Did I just screw everything up?"

"What do you _think_?" he snapped, more harshly than he had intended. Then he took a deep breath, replying more calmly, "No, you didn't. We would have remembered eventually, I'm sure. I just..." He paused, fumbling for the right words. "For a moment, I was almost... happy."

"With Pendragon?" she asked.

He didn't respond.

She sighed, patting him lightly on the back. Then, hesitantly, "What happened on Ibara?"

Dane shook his head. "It isn't that simple. It's never been that simple. All Ibara told me was that I might have a chance."

"At what?"

He sighed, raising his head from his hands to stare at the door, as if willing Bobby to return. "I think... love."


	6. Chapter 6

"We need to talk."

Bobby ignored him, focusing solely on his morning walk to school even as Andy moved to walk by his side. The Lead Traveler's face was a grim line, revealing nothing. The events of the night before, and the return of his memories, had evidently left an impact. Not easily deterred, Andy continued to speak.

"Look," he said, "I know the last thing you want to do right now is talk to me, and I understand that."

Nothing.

"But I don't want to leave you with the wrong impression. Not again."

Still nothing.

"I'd forgotten everything, just the same as you, and I think you know that. So that just leaves the question of what exactly I feel about you. _How_ I feel about you. And more importantly, how you feel about me."

Still nothing, but Bobby's pace had slowed slightly. He was listening.

Andy took a deep breath, nervous and jittery, unprepared for what he had planned to say. "I... I never meant to do any of this to hurt you. You might think I'm a terrible person, and maybe I am, but I'm not a complete bastard." Ignoring the skeptical scoff directed his way, he reached into his backpack and pulled out a small bundle of papers. "Look, I know you couldn't care less about how I feel, and after how I acted I can't blame you. But I need to tell you something, and I can't seem to say it, and you won't believe me if I did. I got Nevva to help me find these, and I just want you to read it."

Bobby walked for a few minutes in silence, then without saying a word he reached over and took the papers. Scanning over the first page, he muttered, "These are my journals from Ibara."

"I know. I had to go all the way to Solara to get them, and got forced into a pretty uncomfortable conversation with Press over it. I want you to read them."

"I've read them already," he responded.

"Not the last page."


	7. Chapter 7

_You'll be the death of me. And I'll be waiting._

Bobby had long since stopped paying attention to class. He was sitting at his desk, a small bundle of papers in front of him, a pained expression on his face. He knew what the pages were—it had been the second journal that he had started on Ibara, when he thought the war was over. Everything that had happened, up to when he had left to finish the battle for Halla. And then, another note, written on the same paper as the others, but in a drastically different script, and addressed to him.

His hands clenched, and he fought back a strange mixture of emotions fighting to break through to the surface. It couldn't be real. It couldn't be true. Ibara had been a trick; yesterday's events had been a trick. It was revenge for his victory, attacking where he was the most vulnerable. Right?

He thought of the look on Andy's face when Nevva had arrived. He had seemed so _broken_ , so... genuine. He thought of the way Andy had been acting. That, too, seemed so very genuine. If it had been a trick, it was a damn good one. And then he thought of Ibara. He thought of that day on the beach when Dane had kissed him and, without even thinking, he had kissed back. Had _that_ been a trick? It hadn't seemed that way at the time; even if the war hadn't truly ended, their time on Ibara had been... companionable. He thought of the way Andy had kissed him the day before, the way that afterward they had just stood there for a moment, like the sudden surge of feeling had surprised both of them.

Bobby flipped back through the journals, reading and rereading his own words. He had written most of these pages—hadn't _those_ been genuine? Even if this was one of Dane's tricks, wasn't it still true that somehow, against all odds, Bobby had developed feelings for the tall, pale man? It had certainly _felt_ real.

 _If it's a trick, I don't think I mind falling for it. Falling for him_.

He had written those words. Not Dane, not anyone else. And he had believed it, too; he fell for Dane, and he had fallen hard. There was no denying that, even if he wanted to. He stared at the page, lost in the conflicting turmoil of his own thoughts.

"School ended five minutes ago, you know."

Bobby jumped as the low voice spoke directly beside him, only then noticing Andy sitting in a chair right next to him. The delinquent was watching him with a solemn, almost apologetic expression, which shifted quickly to pained as Bobby gathered his things wordlessly and moved toward the door.

"Bobby, please."

He grabbed the Lead Traveler's arm, a quiet desperation in his eyes. Bobby turned to look at him, and Andy could see the distressed look in the teen's eyes. "Dane. Don't do this. I can't... I can't do this."

The blue-eyed demon tightened his grip slightly. "Then what? I had a chance to change something on Ibara, and I'll be the first to admit that I screwed up. We could have... it could have ended then and there. But I couldn't bring myself to say what I needed to say, and that almost killed me. I don't know why I didn't die on Third Earth, but you know what? I'm not going to make the same mistakes this time."

"Stop it," Bobby whispered.

"It wasn't until it was too late that I realized how I felt. I wrote that letter in your journal thinking it would be the last thing I ever did, even though I knew you'd never see it. And now we're back here, and I feel like if I don't tell you how much I love you now I'm never going to get the chance."

"Dane, _don't._ " Bobby was on the verge of tears, his hands visibly shaking.

Andy grabbed the other teen by the shoulders, attempting to keep his voice from trembling with nervous energy. "Bobby Pendragon, I love you. If I could change everything I tried to do, I would, if only just for you. I'd give up all my powers, all the plans I'd had for Halla, if only to prove to you that what I'm feeling is real. I love you."

Bobby averted his eyes, gently pulling the hands off of his shoulders. "I _can't._ " His voice was choked, pained. "I just can't do this, Dane. Too much has happened for it to be that simple." He looked back up and met the icy blue eyes, hesitating for a moment before again looking away. "Back then, on Ibara... I really did fall in love with you. It happened so fast, and I was caught off guard. It was surprising, and confusing, and for some reason it made me feel so _happy_. And then it all came crashing down around me, and I felt like such an idiot for ever thinking that the world could work like that. We can't have some fairy tale ending where everything's fine, where I never think about the things you did. I can't forgive you for what you did, any more than you can forgive me for not saving you on Third Earth." He paused, sniffing lightly and wiping his eyes with the back of one hand. "But, you know, I can't really say I don't want you around. When I saw you the other day, I couldn't even remember the war and I was still happy you were alive. I spent the whole day smiling like an idiot. And then you kissed me, and I... I've never been that happy in my life, and I didn't even know why. What I'm trying to say is..."

He hesitated. What _was_ he trying to say? Andy was watching him, his bright blue eyes cautious and concerned and softer than they had ever been during the war for Halla.

"I think..." Bobby took a deep breath, the words which had been flowing from him so easily a moment ago trapped in his throat. "I don't think we can be perfect together. But I think I'm willing to try."

He attempted a shaky half-smile, and Andy smiled back. It wasn't perfect, not by a long shot. But it was definitely a start.

 **[So, that's the less-than-perfect conclusion. I actually forgot what I had originally planned, and I've spent the last day staring at my computer thinking of what to do with this. Hopefully it makes sense. This is the last thing I'm going to be able to post for a while, since when I go to basic I literally can't bring anything at all, not even my phone, and I'll probably be busy with navy stuff anyway. I should be done with training in January, and hopefully when I head to nuke school they'll let me have my laptop again so I can start writing some new stories!]**

 **[Thanks again to pitchpearlgirl and alphaonefourzero. You guys are great friends, and that going-away present will be the highlight of my year!]**


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